August 2021 Designated Realtor®

DESIGNATED

REALTOR

®

ISSUE 4: August 2021

Greetings from

NJREALTOR.COM

I M P O R TA N T D AT E S & D E A D L I N E S

AUGUST

2 NJ Realtors

® Circle of Excellence Sales Award® Applications Open

7 Purple Heart Day 7 National Lighthouse Day 14

SEPTEMBER

6

NJ Realtors® Quarter Century Club Applications Due

National Financial Awareness Day

12

Grandparents Day

26

14

Board of Directors

Women’s Equality Day

15

Yom Kippur

1

2

Election Day

4

Diwali

7

Daylight Savings Time Ends

8

Rosh Hashanah Begins

10

NOVEMBER

RPAC NJ Realtors® Circle of Excellence Sales Award® Unit Deadline

NJ Realtors® Office Closed—Labor Day

6

OCTOBER

Realtor®-Palooza

11

Indigenous Peoples’ Day

11

Columbus Day

National Association of Realtors® Realtor® Conference & Expo

16

Boss’s Day

11

31

Halloween

25

10–15

Veterans Day

NJ Realtors® Office Closed—Thanksgiving

26

17

NJ Realtors® Good Neighbor Award Applications Due

Native American Heritage Day

23

NJ Realtors® Office Closed—Black Friday

25

Realtors® Care Day

27-29

28

C5 Summit

First Day of Hanukkah

WHAT’S BUZZING IN REAL ESTATE?

1 2

All-white exteriors are trending on Instagram, according to Apartment Therapy. Also trending: blue front doors and monochrome windows. Read more here.

5

The Realtors® Relief Foundation, is commemorating its 20th anniversary. The foundation, which was first established in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, aims to establish a reserve fund with its Hope Rising campaign this year. Learn more here.

3 4

NJ Realtors® staff members went headto-head playing state trivia—click here to watch and play along.

Gov. Murphy signed a revised New Jersey Law on Notarial Acts which now authorizes electronic signatures not just during a public health crisis.

The law went into effect on July 22.

Realtor® Magazine reported the number one issue affecting real estate in 2021 is remote work and mobility. “Commercial properties may need to be repositioned as the workplace adapts to more flexible and even sharable spaces.” Read the rest of the top 10 issues here.

6

7 8

According to Realtor® Magazine, young adults are missing out on key information to enter the housing market. Even though financial experts say a 20 percent down payment is ideal, those between the ages of 22 and 30 put down an average of six percent. Read more here.

The 2021 Good Neighbor Award application is now open! Encourage your agents to apply and submit their application by September 17. Apply here.

Mark your calendars! Registration for the 2021 Triple Play Realtor® Convention & Trade Expo will open after Labor Day. Click here.

New Jersey Ranked as 2021 Best State to Live In A

ccording to a recent study by WalletHub, New Jersey ranked as the 2021 Top State to Live. The states were compared using five key metrics including affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety.

WalletHub Methodology

*All data is from WalletHub’s 2021 Best States to Live in report. Click here to read the full report.

WalletHub evaluated the key dimensions using 52 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on

The affordability score is based on housing affordability, median annual property taxes, cost of living, median annual household income and homeownership rate.

Affordability: 49

The economy score is based on recovery from COVID-19, unemployment rate, economic confidence index, population poverty levels, median debt per median earnings, income growth, and more.

Economy: 32

Safety: 1

The total score is based on each state’s weighted average across all metrics.

Total Score: 63.01

Finally, it determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.

Click here for the full methodology.

The quality of life score is based on average hours worked per week, average commute time, miles of trails for bicycling and walking, infrastructure, restaurants*, museums*, performing arts centers*, accessibility of beaches per capita*, and more.

The education and health score is based on the quality of the public school system, high school graduation rate, share of population aged 25 and older with a high school diploma or higher, quality of public hospital system, life expectancy, and more.

Quality of Life: 7

1 The safety score is based on the violent-crime rate, property-crime rate, trafficrelated fatalities per capita and total law-enforcement employees per capita.

a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable living conditions.

To determine the best and worst states to live in, WalletHub compared the 50 states across five key dimensions: 1) Affordability, 2) Economy, 3) Education & Health, 4) Quality of Life, and 5) Safety.

2

3

Education & Health: 5

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

#1: New Jersey – 63.01; #2: Massachusetts – 62.60; #3: New York – 61.63; #4: Idaho – 61.16; #5: Minnesota – 60.97; #6: Wisconsin – 60.94; #7: Utah – 59.84; #8: New Hampshire – 59.59; #9: Iowa – 59.49; #10: Pennsylvania – 59.21

Top Ten States

Designated REALTOR® | August 2021 | 1

Social Media Post Ideas for Brokers

BY ERIN MCFEETERS

1 2

3

4 5 6 7

Introduce Yourself: Who are you and what does your business stand for? Post an introduction so potential clients get to know you.

8 9

Share Your Favorite Quote: Whether it’s an inspirational quote from Mark Twain or a motivational quote from your favorite businessperson, post it on your Instagram Story or Twitter feed.

@njrea

ltors

10

The Timeline of Purchasing or Selling a Home: What’s the current market like?

How long is the process currently taking from posting listing photos to closing day? @njrea

ltors

Share you

r favorit e quote.

11 12

Return on Investment Projects: What projects do you recommend to your sellers before they list their home?

Define Common Real Estate Terms: Your new agents and clients will benefit from a 101 series on common real estate jargon and terminology.

Explain Closing Costs: From commissions to taxes, knowing the ins and outs of closing costs will aid new clients.

Local Business Feature: Become your town’s local neighborhood guide by sharing your favorite restaurants and shops in your area.

Designated REALTOR® | August 2021 | 2

Favorite Tech: What’s the best technology products you’re loving and using all of the time?

Tell your audience.

Housing Market Update: NJ Realtors® provides the most comprehensive housing market data in the state. Share a market update each month, click here for the latest numbers.

The Realtor® Difference: Post about the big difference between a Realtor® and a real estate agent.

Mortgage Rates: Freddie Mac publishes the average U.S. rate every week, click here for 15 and 30-year average rates.

House Hunting Tips: Share your top recommendations for first-time buyers as they look for their first home.

ltors

@njrea

Business 13 Favorite Reads: Help your agents and potential clients pick their next book.

14 15

Moving with Children: Assist families through the moving process with your tips and tricks.

ltors

@njrea

House

Hunting

Tips

Saving for a Down Payment: Share your best practices for saving for a downpayment.

16 17

18

19 20 21 22 23

Share Continuing Education Classes: Are your agents or colleagues behind on CE? Click here for free and low-cost courses to promote.

Color Trends: Whether it’s exterior or interior color trends, what trends do you think will stick around and which ones are just a fad?

Your Real Estate Story: Why did you decide to earn your broker’s license and start your business?

24 25 26

27

Town Event: Is your town hosting an event?

Attend and post pictures!

Sell NJ: What’s your favorite things about living and working in New Jersey?

Work From Home Setup: How do you stay productive while you’re #WFH? Show off your home office space.

Savings Opportunities for Realtors®: Did you know you and your agents can save money on products and services through NJ Realtors®?

Click here to learn more.

Before-and-After: Did one of your clients complete a home improvement project before listing? Post the transformation photos.

28 29

Things You Can’t Leave Home Without: Whether it’s a cell phone tripod or a Bluetooth mouse, what’s your go-to item when you’re on the go?

Home Styles: There a plethora of home styles.

What are some popular home styles in your market?

A Day in the Life: Bring your followers along as you go about your day as a Designated Realtor®.

@njrealt

ors

Favorite Podcasts: True crime, business, or news—there’s an abundance of podcasts available for listening. What do you listen to?

Curb Appeal: Before a client lists their home, they’ll want to hear your curb appeal tips and tricks.

Use Photofy: NJ Realtors® receive exclusive access to a library of customizable graphics with Photofy. Click here to get started.

30

Buying and Selling: Provide tips for clients that are buying and selling at the same time.

31

Staging: Equip your followers with your best tips for decluttering and staging a home before selling.

Designated REALTOR® | August 2021 | 3

Think Your Potential Clients Would Like This Content?

Share it Here!

Lighthouses of New Jersey

BY ERIN MCFEETERS

Ten lighthouses up and down the Jersey Shore are open to visitors—each one unique and located in a scenic area of New Jersey’s coast.

2

Barnegat Lighthouse

Barnegat Light $3 Entrance Fee from Memorial Day to Labor Day You can find what locals call Old Barney on the northern tip of Long Beach Island.

Trek up the 217 steps for a panoramic view of Long Beach Island and Island Beach State Park. Even though the original lens was removed from the Barnegat Lighthouse, it’s on display at the Barnegat Light Historical Society’s Schoolhouse Museum.

Other things to do while you’re in the area: Mustache Bill’s Diner, Viking Village, and Bay Village.

1

Absecon Lighthouse

Absecon $10 Climbing Fee for Adults Climb 288 steps to see views of the oldest boardwalk in the U.S., the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The Absecon Lighthouse was first lit in 1857 and is New Jersey’s tallest lighthouse, clocking in at 171 feet tall.

Other things to do while you’re in the area: Atlantic City Boardwalk, Heritage Park, and Vic’s Subs.

Designated REALTOR® | August 2021 | 4

3

Cape May Lighthouse

Cape May Point $12 Climbing Fee for Adults For unparalleled views of the cape, you can climb 199 steps to look out from the tip of the Cape May Lighthouse.

On a clear day you can see 20 miles in all directions, according to Cape May’s Lighthouse Keepers, and see the sun reflecting off of millions of Cape May’s famous diamonds.

Other things to do while you’re in the area: Cape May Brewing Co., Cape May County Park & Zoo, and Washington Street Mall.

4 Finns Point Rear Range

8

Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse

Lighthouse Pennsville Township Donations Welcome Just east of the Delaware River, you can find this skeleton style lighthouse. Built in 1877, the Finns Point Lighthouse was part of a pair that guided ships into the Delaware River. It’s sister lighthouse no longer stands, but the Fish and Wildlife service refurbished Finns Point and has welcomed back visitors since 2013.

Other things to do while you’re in the area: Fort Mott State Park, Pea Patch Island, and Riverview Beach Park.

Paulsboro Small Donation The steel skeletal structure stands 85 feet tall with 112 steps from the base of the tower to the lantern room. It began operation in 1880 and today it’s an active navigation aid with its 500,000-candlepower fixed red light.

6

Sandy Hook Lighthouse

Sandy Hook Memorial Day to Labor Day, Parking Fee of $20 Per Day You can find the oldest surviving lighthouse in the U.S. in Sandy Hook— first lit in 1764. It was built by the Colony of New York to keep ships safe to and from the New York Harbor. Today, it remains a working lighthouse and is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Other things to do while you’re in the area: Gateway National Recreation Area, Gunnison Beach, and Fort Hancock.

Other things to do while you’re in the area: John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, Cedarvale Winery, and Bridgeport Speedway.

9

Tucker Island Lighthouse

Tuckerton $5 Admission to the Tuckerton Seaport In the heart of the Tuckerton Seaport, is the Tucker Island Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1868 and is a replica of the lighthouse that fell into the ocean in 1927. Today, visitors can experience the traditions of the Barnegat Bay with over 20 exhibits and experiences.

Other things to do while you’re in the area: Tuckerton Seaport, take a ferry to Long Beach Island, and Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

5

Hereford Inlet Lighthouse

North Wildwood Free Admission At just 49.5 feet, the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse is unlike many lighthouses in the state. Currently, it is actively used as a navigation tool by the U.S. Coast Guard, however maintained by the City of North Wildwood Historical Commission. The lighthouse features a Victorian style park and the Hereford Gardens, which are home to over 200 species of flowers and plants.

Other things to do while you’re in the area: North Wildwood Beach, Seaport Pier, and The Original Fudge Kitchen.

7 Sea Girt Lighthouse Sea Girt At 44 feet tall, the Sea Girt Lighthouse was first lit in 1896 to eliminate a blind spot midway between the Twin Lights of Navesink and Barnegat Lighthouse. It’s the last live-in lighthouse on the Atlantic Coast, meaning the living quarters are attached to the tower, and since its preservation, it’s in use 200 days a year.

Other things to do while you’re in the area: Sea Girt Beach, Ray’s Café, and the National Guard Militia Museum of NJ.

10 Twin Lights of Navesink Highlands Free Admission At one of the highest points on the East Coast, the beacons were first added to the Navesink Highlands to warn New York City of approaching French warships in 1746, ordered by the New Jersey Militia. Today Twin Lights is an educational museum with more than $2 million in historic and patriotic artifacts on exhibit.

Other things to do while you’re in the area: Seastreak Ferries, Hartshorne Woods Park, and the Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge.

Designated REALTOR® | August 2021 | 5

Save the date for October 8